Perch
by illsprawl
Summary: The Watanuki family had a cat before Kimihiro was orphaned. Shortfic, little!Watanuki, please excuse any formattingspacing errors.


XXXHOLiC doesn't belong to me, but god am I ever obsessed with it. Thanks a lot CLAMP.

This is just a totally fake look into the Watanuki family and an everyday, albeit unfortunate, event. I have no clue what the flailer's parents were really like, so here's just my take on it.

Not nearly as supernatural as I wanted it, and no Doumeki. (Wah!)

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It was her husband that found Sei curled up on the doorstep. She had always heard that cats would seclude themselves when they were ready to bite the dust, but poor old Sei had continued his daily routine to the last, waiting at the door to be let inside like always.

Her husband didn't take it too well. He had really loved the cat, and was always spoiling it with tiny balls of sticky fish leftover from slicing sashimi or a swipe of red bean paste off the tip of his finger. Kimihiro, being his father's miniature assistant in everything he did (most especially cooking) seemed to have picked up the same habits, and thus Sei's affection for them both was understandable.

She too missed the cat's presence. Sometimes she swore she felt him brushing against her legs, and the knee-jerk reaction after so long was to reach down to give him a pat. But there was no cat to leave thick patches of cat hair on her work clothes anymore, so she grudgingly admitted to herself that maybe she didn't miss him _too_ much.

She had cautiously explained to Kimihiro that Sei had gone away for good, and he took it surprisingly well. She had been prepared to make promises of another cat, a fat one like Sei if that's what he and 'tou-san wanted,but the little boy made no mention of it.After spit-swiping a minuscule smidgen of dirt from her son's round cheek (any excuse to seem him squirm and blush without ever protesting), she pushed him along to his bed for the night.

Perhaps some mothers could grow tired of the bedtime ritual, but she had always been one to savor these special moments. She had often imagined a very grown up Kimihiro putting himself to sleep or fixing his own bentos, and decided she'd tuck him in as long as she possibly could without the boy griping. She could hardly imagine her cheerful little Kimihiro complaining about much of anything. If he continued to take after his father, he'd probably dance through life with a smile and a spatula. She chuckled to herself at the mental image.

Her son didn't like it if she left before he had completely drifted off, so usually she would whisper soothing sweet nothings and hum snippets of half-forgotten lullabies as he yawned and wiggled his little hand into hers. Tonight, though, he stretched his arm towards the empty window sill near his bed as his pretty blue eyes slipped shut. Sei's old perch.

"Kimihiro, you miss Sei don't you?" She murmured softly, running her fingertips through the child's feathery black bangs. He sighed sleepily and leaned into the fleeting touch, even as his brow furrowed. "How can I m-miss him--" A big yawn, "--if he keeps hanging around here?"

She gazed quietly down at her son, unsure of what to say. By the time she forced away a feeling of slight unease and opened her mouth to question him, he was sound asleep. She shook her head and leaned down to place a soft kiss on his forehead, pulling his comforter just up under his chin and switching off the bedside lamp.

It was much later that she awoke with a parched throat. She gave a sleepy yawn and tossed her already tangled hair over her shoulder, wandering towards the kitchen for a glass of water. On the way back, she took a sip and poked her head into Kimihiro's room on an impulse and smiled a little sadly at her sleeping son, whosepale, skinny arm remained outstretched towards the window. Waiting to offer a scratch behind the ears toa certainfat, anko-loving feline. She turned away.

Strange, though, as she made her way back down the hall to the bedroom and swore she heard a fat cat purring.

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Did you like it? Did you hate it? Well, hey. Hey guy. I really do care, so how 'bout you leave me a review and tell me what I can do to make it all better for you. Okay? Pretty please?

Please. Pleeeeaaaaaaaaazzzuuhhh. Review for me. Even a tiny one. I beg. I pant. I salivate for it. Guh.


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